


'cause some of us are heaving through corrupted lungs

by cancerthecrabbo



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Author Is Bad At Updating, Blood, Champions Live!AU, Daruk is Link's friend, F/F, Found Family, Friendship, I Made Myself Cry, I started crying because I love Zelda so much, Implied Relationships, Implied for now, Injury, Major Character Injury, Male-Female Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Urbosa and Zelda are implied, because that IS still possible guys, male-male friendship, poor Link, shes just so smart and wonderful, spoilers for the game, temporary major character death, y'all know what it means by now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 14:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13719300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cancerthecrabbo/pseuds/cancerthecrabbo
Summary: Link and Zelda make a final effort to save the other Champions from death, but upon succeeding, Link still succumbs to his injuries.And Ganon is still out there.TEMPORARY HIATUS - NOT ABANDONDED





	'cause some of us are heaving through corrupted lungs

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from the song "Youth" by Daughter, slightly edited to fit the story better. Lol.
> 
> This is unbeta'd but self-edited. There may be mistakes, so sorry!

In the safety of an overhang in the middle of the woods, Zelda reigned in her emotions. After so long of being the poised, rational princess of Hyrule, she had broken. In the torrent of rain came the tears and inconsolable grief. Her father was dead. She was an orphan, and now the Champions were dying. But there was something they could do about that.

 

Link held her close. No words could make her feel better, and so they rested in silence. They didn’t have much time, as the guardians were looking for them. The rain was freezing and still falling in buckets. At least the Sheikah slate was water-proof, so even if their shelter wasn’t perfect, their only advantage wouldn’t short-circuit.

 

The slate had a map on it and was able to teleport anyone, anywhere. They just had to figure out how to teleport someone so far away to their location. There were four little markers on the map that glowed bright yellow, each in the shape of a Divine Beast. The problem was finding the Champions trapped within. Zelda tinkered with the slate as a bolt of lightning shook the ground nearby.

 

She was fairly experienced in multitasking, and so while she frantically programmed the Champions’ locations into the map, she also assessed Link’s condition out of the corner of her eye. He was obviously exhausted after fending off waves of monsters and more than his fair share of guardians. He had burns all over his arms and legs from close-calls with the machines, and a few too many slices from vicious moblins. Blood dripped from his wounds, but they had no time to tend to their own well-being. Not yet, at least.

 

Finally, a pleasant beep sounded from the Sheikah slate. Four blue glowing points appeared on the map and pulsed as they moved around inside the Divine Beasts. Seconds after her triumph, a red dot appeared on Link’s blue tunic, jolting around a bit before focusing on his chest.

 

A guardian had found them.

 

Link threw his arm around Zelda’s waist and pulled them both out of the niche. A bright blue laser blew the rock to bits, smoke billowing from where they had just been sitting. Link looked Zelda in the eyes as the guardian pinpointed where his heart was again.

 

“Link—“

 

Zelda was cut off as she was pushed into the safety of the dense trees. She stumbled a bit, but she regained her footing just as the second laser gouged a rut in the mud. She watched as Link reached desperately for his bow, glancing back in horror as he remembered he’d broken it earlier while killing a white Lizalfo. The guardian had already focused its laser again on Link’s chest where it hovered above his heart.

 

Link’s face became stony with determination and he gripped the Master Sword in his bloody hands. The sheer will it must take for him to make his battered body move snapped Zelda out of her daze. They needed help, and they needed it now. She swiftly locked the slate’s teleportation device to the four Champions and set her location as the point they would appear at.

 

She knew it would take a couple seconds for all four Champions to arrive, and so pressed the slate to her body and watched as Link battled. He was plastered in mud, no doubt it stung his wounds, but he managed to keep his footing as he stood again. The guardian readied another laser, its eye not moving from Link’s form.

 

In front of Zelda, four shapes began to glow. From the sky came blue particles, and she knew the Champions had arrived.

 

Two things happened at the same time. The first: Urbosa, Daruk, Revali, and Mipha materialized, all of them dirty and covered in scratches. They were nearly synchronized as they fell to the floor. The second: Link let loose a bloodcurdling scream.

 

Zelda watched him fly backwards, his chest a mess of blood and smoldering blue fabric. His sword was knocked out of hands, the laser having nearly cut in half. It sank into the mud, the ethereal light dimming for the first time that day.

 

She ran forward, a scream of her own in the back of her throat, terror flashing through her. He looked as though he were already dead when she dropped to her knees beside him. The guardian’s head whirred, twitching to compensate for the new target. Its single eye remained on Link, even when he was completely still. Zelda choked back her horror as her hands pressed down on Link’s chest, fingers slipping on the blood pumping from his body. The rain washed away from of the mud and blood, revealing some the gruesome damage. The guardian’s head became still and she saw the eye begin to glow. _No,_ she thought _, not while I can help it_. Her pulse was so loud in her ears she nearly missed the Champion’s yells.

 

But suddenly, Zelda felt no panic. Instead, a warm feeling of power encompassed her.  The coldness in her bones disappeared for a split second, and on instinct, she thrust a hand out toward the mechanical beast before her.  She would no longer allow Ganon to take her precious friends and family from her.

 

A golden light blocked out the guardian’s own malicious stare. In the blink of an eye, the blight was gone, and the guardian was still.

 

Behind her, Link began to cough, deep and wet with blood.  Zelda quickly lowered herself down next to him.  She raised him so that he leaned against her, head lolling back onto her right shoulder.  His golden hair was now dark brown from the mud.  Zelda reached out to brush the hair away that was plastered to his forehead. His eyes fluttered open, and when he locked eyes with her, she could see pain and fear.

 

“Link!” Mipha’s voice was full of horror and rage.  “Link, stay awake. I will heal you, I promise. You’ll be just fine.” The Zora princess kneeled down beside him, eyes flitting from Zelda to Link. “Princess, are you okay?”

 

“Yes…yes I am okay. Urbosa, Daruk, Revali,” she called them closer to her. “Are you hurt?”

 

“I am okay, Zelda,” Urbosa said. She laid a hand on Zelda’s shoulder, not saying anything, but knowing there was nothing to say.

 

“As am I,” Revali assured.

 

Daruk took a knee next to Mipha. “So am I.” He had always been close to Link, supporting him when others had been suspicious. His face showed just how hard it was to see the Hylian so near death. “Stay with me, little guy. Uh…” he scrambled for any story to tell, “did I ever tell you about the time I fell down Death Mountain?”

 

Link began to sag more and more against Zelda. His breaths came heavier and with each one, a terrible crackling noise came from deep within his chest. Daruk had taken to squeezing Link’s hand to keep him awake but even that couldn’t get him to open his eyes anymore.

 

Mipha worked silently, beads of sweat adorning her forehead. It was the worst wound that Link had sustained, and though she was skilled, there was so much damage.  Daruk’s protection would keep them safe from the rain and any brainless monster that dared to come close. When the Goron realized that his attempts to keep Link awake were no longer working, he chose to concentrate on the shield and Link’s hand in his.

 

A quiet voice interrupted the shell-shocked silence. “Princess.” It was rough from disuse and agony, but after so many late-night conversations, she could recognize it in a heartbeat. Link’s hand shook as he attempted to grab Zelda’s own. She gripped it, feeling the weak pulse beneath her fingers. “Zelda. Don’t…give up.” Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, and he had to take a moment to gather himself again. “You can…can defeat Ganon.  On your own.”

 

“Don’t say that!” Zelda held his hand tighter. “You’re going to be fine, Link.”

 

But she knew that was a lie. He was barely strong enough to cough anymore. He was drowning on dry land, trembling apart in her arms. The only reason he was still in pain was because he was using the last of his energy to stay awake, to tell her—

 

“I believe in you.”

 

Zelda sobbed, her hand gripping Link’s as though she could keep him with her if she just held on tight enough. But she had to be strong. Link needed her to be strong.

 

“I’ll make sure your courage was not in vain, Link, I promise you.” The next words caused her physical pain to get out, but she need to say it. “You can rest now. Sleep, my knight.”

 

Link did not smile. But his eyes no longer held any trace of fear. They remained staring into her eyes until his eyelashes fluttered down, coming to rest on his cheeks. And the woods were silent.

 

The Master Sword began to speak.

 


End file.
